A hundred or so inhabitants, dry stone houses wedged between two ravines 400 meters deep, and an access road that's already an adventure in itself. Masca, at 680 meters in the Teno massif, marks the end of the TF-436 in hairpin bends: the island's most photographed village, and with good reason. The hamlet belonged to the end of the world until the 1960s-80s, when the road was built. Before that, you could only reach it on foot.
The trick: Arrive before 9am or after 3pm—tour buses flood the village between 10am and 2pm. Take the route from Santiago del Teide → Masca → Buenavista del Norte: you'll cover the entire TF-436 without doubling back, and the views are more spectacular in this direction. A mandatory stop at the Mirador de Cherfe on the way—panoramic views of the village, the gorges, and Mount Teide in the background.
Masca belongs to the municipality of Buenavista del Norte. The village is divided into several neighborhoods—Masca, El Turrón, La Bica, Juan López—connected by cobbled alleys between terraced gardens, bougainvillea, and cacti. The architecture is the best preserved in the Canaries: dry stone, wood, whitewash. It's classified as a Cultural Heritage Site.
Legend has it that pirates used the gorges as a refuge to attack galleons loaded with gold from the Americas. The ravines descending to the sea offered the perfect natural shelter. Nothing's been proven, but the landscape speaks for itself.
The small Ethnographic Museum (€1.50, Mon-Fri 11am-5pm) traces the village's history when it was isolated from the rest of the island—subsistence farming, traditional architecture, old tools.
The descent through Masca's gorges is Tenerife's most famous hike. About 4 km downhill through a canyon with walls several hundred meters high, 580 m elevation loss, ending at a black sand cove facing the Los Gigantes cliffs. Time to descend: 2.5 to 3.5 hours depending on pace. High difficulty, uneven terrain, rocky sections, risk of slipping. Good fitness required.
Since December 2025, everything's changed on the access side. Booking is mandatory on caminobarrancodemasca.com. The trail is open Wednesday to Saturday, with 30-minute time slots starting at 8:30am (25 places per slot). The permit costs around €41 (helmet included + insurance). Tenerife residents are reimbursed.
Private access is forbidden at the trailhead. You must park at the Santiago del Teide cemetery parking lot, walk 10 minutes to the TITSA bus stop, and take bus line 355 (~20 min trip). You need to be at the stop at least 1 hour before your reserved slot. Without proof of using bus 355, trail access is denied.
The return is by boat from Masca cove to Los Gigantes (~€25, not included in the ticket, book separately). Only the descent is possible under the current system. Bring: closed hiking shoes (mandatory), 1.5 L water minimum, food, sunscreen, hat.